The Girl That Could Shed No More Tears
by SesshiraRayu
Summary: What happens when a distant relative of Alice's comes to Underland? She is a singer, and just mad enough to accept the world she landed in. Hatter and his friends are troubled, the young woman just seems so broken, and they can't figure out why. What would cause such a beautiful soul to be corrupted so thoroughly? The Underland might have welcomed more than they can ever handle.
1. Down the Rabbit Hole Goes Adrastea

Green rolling hills with specks of color from blooming wildflowers passed by the glass of the car window as lonely brown eyes stared out. The owner of such dull colored orbs covered their sadness and unease with the look of excitement. She didn't want to offend her hosts after they had waited so long to finally see her. Flickering her gaze for the umpteenth time on this entire trip, she wondered of how she would smile ever again.

"I wonder if they have any pets." the girl thought as she wrung her hands nervously together. However, she doubted it from the disapproving look that she received at the air port.

Baggy black clothes in America deemed one as a "emo", "goth", or "punk", but the differences in attitude didn't apply to the rest of the outfit. However, the teen didn't mind the assumptions. The hoodie lacked a zipper, but was at least four sizes too big for her small frame. It wasn't decorated in any way, but it had the look of being well worn and beloved.

Like a "goth", the young woman was very pale. It would seem from makeup if her hands and neck didn't match the shade flawlessly. She was a ghost from her lack of time or want to spend in the sun. However, neither was her ebony hair faked. With one long, single braid down her spine to dangle just past her hips, the feat had taken years to grow out and plenty of care to maintain. To frame her heart-shaped face, the teen preferred side swept bangs with slightly longer locks near her ears.

The transition into womanhood was also seemed to treat the teen well. She was slender, but with hints of curves to come. Her legs were long and lean with the muscles for running, which came quite in handy when she had one of her panic attacks. Although, some would disagree that being able to run from one's problems is a good thing.

The greeting at the airport was less than desired if the teen was honest with herself. The duo looked at her as if she was insane and left a bad taste in their mouth to even look at. Blushing deeply, the teen looked at her feet as they talked about her as if she could hear them.

A frail old couple were seated in the front seats as they headed to their estate in the countryside, hauling a sixteen year old girl to a summer with the 'proper' people of London. Although, their guest had a sneaking suspicion that they took her in to hide the real reason from her. Their daughter, her mother, was dying.

Speaking of dying... This poor vehicle should have been shipped to the junkyard or at least to a decent mechanic by now. It creaked and swayed like a boat for the last few hours, ever since the engine reluctantly sputtered to life. The entire aging silver Land Rover smelt strongly of that scent that could only be described as old people and cigarettes, of which, one was lit in one of those long cigarette holders held by the frank old woman in the passenger seat. The windows were all sealed, which meant that the spirals of smoke rose undisturbed.

Breathing softly and slowly though her mouth as if she could ignore the horrid odor, the teenager watched the greenness of nature pass her by, without a taste of its scent or a touch of its unique textures. She would be more excited about this trip if her mother was here. The ray of sunshine of her life seemed to be slowly going out, much like the clouds that seemed to always cover the light here.

"I could use the moon as my new sun." she silently mused as a small real smile graced her lips, but then she caught the slight glare from the passenger side mirror. Turning her gaze, the teen well knew what the older woman saw that she didn't approve of.

Nodding off as she saw the sunset start to fade in the distance, the young woman sat up straight when she glimpsed the estate. The massive building was lit with various lamps and such in the distance. The Land Rover made a not-so-comfortable turn into a rocky gravel driveway and pulled up in front of a mansion of at least acre in size without all the surrounding lawn or gardens.

As she stepped out of the car, the girl openly gawked at the place she'd be staying for the next few months. Clearing his throat, the old man grabbed the young lady's arm without her noticing and spoke, "Come now..."

The teen's panic attacks were quite infamous and caused quite a bit of trouble in her life, both in public and personal. The couple should have been warned throughly, but some are known to overlook it. However, the full body flinch was enough to trigger an attack. The startling touch combined with the deep, unfamiliar, baritone voice caused the teen's mind to go blank.

Taking off like a cheetah, the girl suddenly thought that she was surrounded by danger and took to the wind. Years of such attacks made her imagine a deep baritone laugh so maniacal and evil. Dodging the hedges and flowerbeds as if they contained snakes and other such nasties, the girl was unable to acknowledge the concerned voices of not just the older couple, but of her other relatives that she had yet to be able to meet. The dark English night embraced the frantic girl like she was just another part of its system.

When she scampered up a particularly steep hill, the girl paused in her blind flight as she noticed all the innocent stars staring down at her. She blushed as she panted. Exhausted, she sighed as she just sat down on the grass. Gazing up at the stars, she was vaguely aware of voices calling and searching for her in the dark. Even the moon was gone for its new cycle, so they had flashlights to mark their locations.

The girl smirked as she felt an odd sense of freedom, something that had seemed to disappear for the last month or so. Moving to the oddly lonesome tree, she hide in the small amount of shrubs, wanting to keep this freedom for longer. "I think they can last without me for a while longer." she said quietly, to justify her actions.

Feeling the soreness of her left shoulder, the teen went to pat it, then realized that she hadn't dropped her bag in her mad dash. The bag was a gift from her mother for starting a co-ed public high school. It was much like her hoodie, entirely black and well loved. It was one of those shoulder messenger bags that had way too pockets that one could possibly use or remember what what was in each pocket.

As she realized this, the teenager giggled into the darkness. Leaning back to recline against the tree, or the clear patch of grass, the teenager noticed that there was nothing there. A large hole swallowed her before she could recover and sit back up. Eyes wide with surprise, but no voice to scream, she saw vague shapes fly past her as she fell toward the dark unknown.

Going at least thirty miles an hour from the wind going past her head, the teen covered her face with her arms to hopefully protect it from the objects flying past her in the dark. Hitting what felt like a bed, she bounced off and continued her descent.

Bracing for impact, which was bound to come eventually, by turning so she was dropping very quickly feet-first, the teen closed her eyes and chanted the letters of her name as a prayer. It was something her mother taught her when she used to have nightmares. Just as she finished the last letter, she hit the ground and knelt with the impact.

When she finally got her bearings, the gravity switched and the girl suddenly toppled to the true ground. Since she was unprepared, she landed on her chest, which made her heavy bag pound against her back. A half formed thought wondered if she broke anything, herself or the contents of her bag. Giving a helpless grunt, she sat up, then brushing herself off as she looked around at all the various open doors leading to seemingly random areas, which illuminated the darkness of the room. "Now what have you done now, Adrastea Korbyn?" she muttered in slight, childish awe.

* * *

I am resubmitting this stories with extreme edit after so long


	2. Meet The Tea Trio and the White Rabbit

Peering warily out each door, Adrastea noticed that each one leading somewhere new; the double doors lead to a completely white corridor, the green door to a kitchen full of teapots, dirty dishes from baking and various tea cups, and several others leading to more strange places such as a garden of flowers. The table and the single chair in the room had a small piece of cake and a pretty vial of fluid. Not feeling particularly up to testing the food and drink, she walked closer to one of the doors.

Beyond the doorframe, there was ruins. It felt strangely familiar. The remnants of a castle or a keep's tower was entrancing in the bright sunlight. The ground was also covered in a beautiful white and black tiles, much like a chess- or checker board. Outside the board was plenty of flowers and trees. Believing that this was as good place as any, Adrastea stepped past the doorway.

Adrastea didn't realize that the ground of the room and the board was slightly different, but at least a foot and a half. She stumbled as she landed on the checkered ground. However, the wind carrying the scent of flowers and nature to her nose whipped past her as she smiled and laughed in delight. Chuckling to herself as she got used to the new location, she didn't notice a timid white rabbit hop hesitantly behind her.

Feeling a tug on the hem of her hoodie, Adrastea looked down and her eyes widened as brown orbs absorbed a white rabbit as large as an average dog in a magenta waist coat like from 1800's shaking slightly as it peered up at her. "Who are you Miss?" it asked in a defiantly male voice. Not even bothering to answer, the young woman fled like she was being chased by wolves hungry for human flesh.

The panic clashed through her veins as Adrastea was like a speed demon. She was again, seeing all the danger in the trees that she entered. Running blindly through woods, she ended up stopping in a clearing with bare trees, ruins of buildings charred by something and burnt dead grass. Panting heavily from exertion, she glanced around wildly but when the coast was clear, she relaxed.

"I'm in a strange world." the girl concluded as she sat down on a burnt log. The place should have smelt like smoke or charred wood, but it was clear like it had been like this for such a long time. She was confused, but then again, doors that led from one place to a dozen others wasn't? "I should see what I have." she stated as if she was seeing what she had to survive a zombie apocalypse.

As she started to take the contents of the pockets out. Sometimes she'd give an item a strange look as if she had never seen it before. Others she glared at for being lost for so long. As she pulled items out, she sorted them into piles on the mostly clear patch of grass. Calculating the size of certain piles, she concluded that she was doomed, since she wasn't able to carry any sort of weapon since she had to ride an airplane.

The piles were what most would find a sixteen year old to be carrying. Although Adrastea would argue that the rest of her luggage wasn't here. There was a small pile of all the makeup she owned, which was significantly less than most teens. Another pile was all her jewelry, which had been packed into a small coin bag so she didn't lose any earrings.

The larger pile was her electronics. A touch screen iPod, which was covered in a clear cover to make it more damage resistant, was her constant companion. She also found her camera, which also had several 'new' memory cards, most of which she had thought that she had lost. A small laptop, which was mostly for holding all the images that she liked from the internet, was rarely used and sat uselessly here since she doubted there was Wifi. The pile was complete with a small, all in one solar charger that Adrastea got last year for a camping trip to make her iPod survive.

The last pile was Adrastea's extra change of clothes, which made her bag more bulky and heavy. The set consisted of a purple long sleeved shirt, a black tank top, tall black boots with steel toes, black leggings, and a purple and black striped mini skirt.

Sighing because there was nothing particularly useful in her bag, Adrastea put everything back and stood up. Sweating slightly, she took off her hoodie and revealed the body hidden beneath. "Might as well find an inhabitant." she noted cheerily as she walked.

Wearing tight dark blue jeans with black butterflies and rose embroidered up her left leg, brown lace-up boots that went half-way up her calves, Adrastea glanced at her shirt and blushed wishing she could change her top. A stretchy tan spandex/cotton long sleeved shirt hung off her shoulders as its design dictated ended a few inches before her belly button exposing her navel to anyone's eyes, was trimmed on the top with soft, not scratchy off-white lace. Adrastea had completed the look that morning with a black vest that tight and held her breasts up and together and was shorter that the shirt itself and black skull earrings, with white rhinestone eyes.

Closing her eyes, Adrastea listened and could vaguely hear chatter and the clink of china hitting china. Pausing for a moment to ponder the ridiculous idea, she then started to walk toward the source of the noise. The woods began to thin and a broken down windmill could be seen through the barren branches as she crouched behind them.

Adrastea studied the trio. They were a strange bunch, to say it nicely. There was a hare that looked like he needed a good bath that was very twitchy and kept moving and rearranging the tea cups and such placed in front of him. A mouse that had a sword and was dressed a tunic, and a man... a tall man with a strange looking top hat and unruly scarlet hair. There was two males and a female judging by the voices.

Holding very still, Adrastea watched them trying to get the courage to approach them. Feeling a warm breeze, she didn't tear her eyes from the trio. "Oh? We have a young woman who is spying?" purred a male voice that was rich in tone.

Goosebumps creeped over her skin, as Adrastea tried to move, but she was trapped in the fear. "No comment?" the male asked, as Adrastea felt something touch her she moved. As quick as a lightning strike, the hand belonging to the voice was grabbed and suddenly thrown and Adrastea saw a beautiful cat with smoky gray fur and electric blue stripes fly forward, then disappear into mist.

Panting as she tried to shake off her terror, Adrastea realized she was standing above the bushes and the trio was staring at her in shock. "My, my, you have a strong arm, lassie." said the red-haired man, as he got up from his chair and started walking toward her. Each step he took toward her was one step backward, she took to stay away.

A paw appeared out of nowhere and stopped the man. "I do believe she is scared, old friend." purred a familiar voice. The man stopped and took off his hat and bowed. "Well then dear lass, I am the Mad Hatter." he introduced with a soft accent that she couldn't quite place.

Blinking, Adrastea backed up even further. "No... that was just a story Mom would tell me... it can't be real..." she stopped as she realized which mother she was talking about.

"What isn't real?" asked the female mouse, who had come over unnoticed. Adrastea noticed that the mouse was very calm.

Adrastea shook her head trying to make this all go away. "Wonderland... I mean Underland... Mom's great grandmother came here..." she was stuttering in spite of herself and unable to complete her thought aloud.

The Hatter came close. "Great grandmother?" he asked, as Adrastea noticed his eyes were the entrancing green she was told about, his front teeth still spaced, and his hat just the same.

"Yes... Alice Kingsley..." Just as she murmured those words, his eyes turned a slight yellow.

"Where is she? When will Alice come?" he asked, his eyes innocent without understanding.

Backing up, Adrastea tripped and crawled away. "Sir... She's passed away long before I was born..."

Everyone's eyes were open with dread understanding as it dawned on the Hatter. "Alice's not coming back..." he said confirming it to himself. Green and yellow turned blue with sorrow and orange with anger. "WHY!" he screamed, making everyone flinch.

Getting up, Adrastea noticed everyone was scampering away. "He's going insane!" yelled the hare as he dove under the table with the mouse and the cat also disappearing from sight.

Roaring to the sky, the Hatter turned his attention to Adrastea. "You..." he growled. Dread filled her stomach, but then she wasn't afraid, not of the Hatter, whom she was always told was gentle and brave. As he came forward toward her like a predator stalking prey, she stood up and dropped her bag into the ground with a muffled thump. Goosebumps once again made all the hairs on her body stand up.

Opening her eyes, Adrastea came fearlessly forward and slapped the Hatter, who stood there stunned. "Do you think Alice would like you to treat her kin like this?!" she demanded, screaming in his face. "She died, so what?! Everyone's dies for your 411! Now get over it and cherish the memories you had together!" It was similar to what she had been told all those years ago.

The Hatter blinked, his eyes returning to normal. "You slapped me..." he said dumbfounded.

Adrastea snorted as she settled into her teenager mode, like at school. "So what? At this rate it won't be the last..."

The hare came out from under the table holding the mouse. "That was very brave of you, girl." said the mouse in awe. "I'm Mallymkun the Dormouse. And this holding me is Thackery Earwicket or the March Hare." Bowing slightly with Mallymkun, Thackery put her down on the table.

The Hatter bowed again. "Sorry for that display." he apologized as Adrastea eased slightly.

Adrastea smiled. "It's quite alright. I am Adrastea Korbyn." she offered her hand to shake.

Beaming, the Hatter offered his arm to Adrastea. "Shall we have tea?" he inquired. Looking at the table, Adrastea nodded. The Hatter looked at the arm that Adrastea didn't grab. "Is this no longer a custom in the Otherland?" he questioned, flecks of yellow appearing in his eyes.

Adrastea gazed at his arm and blushed. "Not much anymore..." she murmured, but made no move to come closer and take the offered arm.

Mally glanced over. "What is wrong child?" she asked, slightly concerned.

Adrastea shook her head making her long braid follow the movement. "Nothing..." she uttered as she turned and picked up her bag. The Hatter gave up and went to the table and pulled out a chair next to him out for Adrastea. Shaking her head politely, Adrastea took a seat next to Mallymkun and sat. Confused, the Hatter sat and the hare poured some tea for Adrastea, who thanked him but just stared at the liquid while the trio watched her for a bit before she ended being ignored as they started their normal chatter.

"Rude aren't you?" inquired the cat's male voice from the opposite end of the table from the Hatter.

Everyone stopped as he spoke. Adrastea didn't move, and sighed. "You have no room to speak, now do you?" she said calmly as she finally picked up her teacup of cooled tea and took a small gulp from it. "From what I know, you, Chessur the Cheshire Cat, is no enemy to make and thus one I have no wish to offend."

Moving slowly, Adrastea drank her tea gracefully and calmly until someone touched her side. "Why did you flee?" asked the rabbit from earlier, who was panting softly.

"Did it occur to you that you scared me?" questioned Adrastea as she finished her tea. She was numb at the moment, so she wasn't prone to one of her panic attacks.

The rabbit stuttered. "It..."

Smiling as she put down her empty cup, Adrastea turned to him. "Well Niven McTwisp, I suggest you don't do it again or I might have rabbit stew." Eyes almost popping out of Niven's head caused Adrastea burst out laughing. "I'm kidding, I loathe rabbit meat let alone rabbit stew."

Niven relaxed as Adrastea giggled slightly as he calmed down. Raising a shaggy eyebrow, the Hatter looked at Niven. "Tea?" he asked holding up a teapot. As Niven left to sit beside the Hatter and as far as he could from Adrastea as possible, Adrastea leaned down and got out her iPod. "Would anyone mind if I played some music?" she inquired as she held up the item that was mysterious to the Underlanders.

With a chorus of no's, Adrastea grinned like Chessur as she selected a song. Piano filled the air as Adrastea relaxed. The music built up as suddenly Adrastea began to sing, singing along perfectly with the female that originally sings the song. '_How can you see into my eyes like open doors? Leading you down into my core where I've become so numb.._.' Here the air seemed to still before the music was filled with drums, bass and guitars. '_Without a soul, my spirit sleeping somewhere cold. Until you find it there and lead it back home...'_

Again the air stilled before a male voice from the iPod joined Adrastea and the unknown female singer in the song. '_Wake me me up inside.I can't wake up. Wake me up me. Call my name and save me from the me up. Bid my blood to run.I can't wake up. Before I come me. Save me from the nothing I've become..._' Everyone's eyes were open and watching, but Adrastea's eyes remained closed as she sang and swayed slightly with the beat.

'_Now that I know what I'm without, You can't just leave me. Breathe into me and make me real... Bring me to life...Wake me up. Wake me up inside.I can't wake up. Wake me up me. Call my name and save me from the me up. Bid my blood to run.I can't wake up. Before I come me. Save me from the nothing I've become.I've been living a lie...There's nothing inside. Bring me to life..._' Hatter stared at the change in the girl she was singing as if she was in this situation...

'_Frozen in time without your touch, Without your love, darling. Only you are the life among the dead...All this time, I can't believe I couldn't see. Kept in the dark but you were there in front of me... I've been sleeping a thousand years it seems,Got to open my eyes to thought, without voice, without a soul. Don't let me die must be something more. Bring me to me up. Wake me up inside.I can't wake up. Wake me up me. Call my name and save me from the me up. Bid my blood to run.I can't wake I come me from the nothing I've become.I've been living a lie. There's nothing inside. Bring me to life..._' As Adrastea sang the last note and the song's music died away she opened her eyes and everyone was staring at her in shock.

Everything seemed paused as the iPod started playing another song, but softer so it went unnoticed. After a moment, the Hatter started clapping wildly and everyone joined him, shouting 'encore'.

Blushing as deep as humanly possible, Adrastea murmured 'thank you' and stared down at her empty tea cup before the Hatter noticed it was empty. "Gosh, someone give the girl some tea! She must be parched!" he ordered and Adrastea's cup was soon filled.

"Where did you learn to sing so beautifully?" questioned Chessur, who was still a little surprised.

Adrastea smiled shyly. "By myself."

The chatter soon started again and continued even as the sun began to set. Adrastea noticed Thackery was nodding off and Mallymkun was asleep in a teacup. A thought hit her, and she interrupted the Hatter and Niven as they debated about the use of ribbon on a hat. "Where am I going to sleep tonight?" she asked.

Mallymkun stirred slightly in her sleep and woke up as all eyes turned to the Hatter, who was getting a faint blush on his cheeks. Silence reigned for several minutes as the problem was pondered. "Well we could take you to the Queen's palace, but that would take all night..." offered Thackery.

Chessur had a thoughtful look on his cat face. "You could sleep here. In the morning, we can take you to the Queen's palace." Adrastea and the rest looked at the Hatter. "Well Tarrent?" inquired Chessur with a soft purr to his tone. "In the end it's up to you, it is your house."

Hatter's face was tinted pink with embarrassment. "But..." he stuttered as he looked down at the hands he was fiddling with.

Mallymkun smiled at Adrastea and winked. Thackery was asleep already. Niven looked at his pocket watch murmuring his farewells as he scampered off. Chessur grinned his signature smile as he started to turn into vapor. "Goodnight everyone." he said as his grin faded away.

Adrastea glanced around. "We'd better get inside it's getting dark." she announced, which snapped Hatter out of his trance of fiddling with his fingers and thumbs.

"Yes, yes." he muttered as he scooped up Thackery. Mallymkun jumped onto Adrastea's bag as they marched up into the run-down windmill.

Mallymkun curled up in a broken teapot that had scraps of fabric that served as blankets and pillows. Thackery was carefully placed by the Hatter onto a small make-shift bed under a table in the kitchen. Blushing slightly, the Hatter led Adrastea to a small bedroom with a handmade bed with a quilt and several pillows. "Goodnight, do try to sleep well." murmured the Hatter as he turned to shut the door and leave.

"Hatter?" ask Adrastea, causing him to turn.

"Yes?" he responded.

"Where are you going to sleep?" questioned Adrastea.

Smiling softly, green eyes twinkling, the Hatter slowly shut the door and just before you couldn't see his face, he answered. "Somewhere..."

Adrastea sighed and looked at the bed and shuddered. 'He sleeps here... a man...' she mentally as she lay on the floor, curling into a ball, her hoodie being used as a pillow. As she fell asleep, she wondered if being in Underland was a good thing or a bad thing to happen to her...

* * *

The song is "Bring me to Life" by Evanescence


	3. Breakfast and the White Queen

When the Hatter woke up on his hatting workshop, he smelt something unfamiliar, but yummy enough to make his stomach growl. Yawning, he popped his back as he made his way to the kitchen. In the doorway, he stopped. "Oh my..."

Adrastea was up and dressed in her extra outfit, listening to her iPod with her headphone quietly. She was using the stove to make something that smelt different, but upon investigation of the orderly stack of ingredients, he guessed that she was making pancakes. Very thin pancakes indeed, since on a clean plate was a stack of small and almost see through thin pancakes. Next to the plate was some bowls of what looked like pie filling and powdered sugar, and then next to that was some clean plates, forks and spoons.

Thackery silently pulled on the Hatter's coat causing him to look down before he could disturb the working girl. Putting a finger to his lips, the March Hare led the Hatter to the tea party table outside.

Blinking slightly, the Hatter stared at the table which was much cleaner now; the tablecloths clean of tea and pastries, old pastries thrown out, broken tea cups and such used to make very decorative center pieces. "Who...?" gasped the Hatter.

"Adrastea did... this was all done when I got up this morning." declared Mallymkun, who now had a place that was decorated and looked fit for a mini princess or warrior in this case.

Hatter gawked at the table, which was anything, but boring and was still clean. "She must have spent all night on this.." he muttered, as the windmill's door opened.

"Thackery, would you mind... oh! Good morning Hatter." exclaimed Adrastea. "I just couldn't spent when I woke up from a dream about the table looking like this." she explained. Beaming, she dragged Thackery inside with her and together they came out with the thin pancakes and the clean dishes. Disappearing back inside, the duo came back out with the bowls of pie filling.

"These are called crepes. They're similar to thin pancakes, but you put pie filling the center and roll it up and sprinkle powered sugar on top and enjoy." said Adrastea, demonstrating each direction herself as she explained it.

Thackeray, Hatter and Mally all mimicked her with their own crepe and choice of pie filling. Once the crepes and pie filling was half-gone, Chessur appeared out of nowhere. "Well hello." he greeted them, but before he could do much else, Adrastea held up a crepe filled with cherry pie filling.

"Try?" she asked, as Chessur eyed the treat before eating it right out of her hand.

Blue eyes turned slightly darker. "Oh my... that was delicious. May I join you for breakfast?" Smiling, Adrastea kept feeding Chessur until everyone was stuffed.

Adrastea cleaned up all the dirty dishes and washed them inside and came back out with her bag. "Queen's Palace?" she reminded the group, much to their displeasure. They didn't want to share her now.

Murmuring their agreements, the trio went inside the windmill to get some belongings as Adrastea sat outside and waited, drinking tea. As soon as the gang was ready, they set out heading to the Queen's Palace.

After an hour of walking, Adrastea's giddy attitude dissipated and she silently walked, the sleep she missed from last night starting to catch up to her and the exhausted the cheery facade that she had donned to disguise her discomfort. Mallymkun was riding on the Hatter's top hat and when she turned to glance at Adrastea, she instantly noticed the dark circles now under her eyes and how she just barely walked, slowly falling behind.

Sliding down from the top hat and onto Tarrent's shoulder, Mally pulled on his hair to make him stop. "Wha..." began the Hatter, but Adrastea hadn't noticed he stopped and ran right into his back and fell down onto her ass. Turning around, Hatter and Thackery noticed what Mallymkun had before; Adrastea was exhausted.

Instantly at Adrastea's side, the Hatter was fussing over her like she was a young child. "Oh dear, lass you should have gone back to sleep!" he murmured, starting to reach to pick her up.

As his hand came too close, Adrastea moved faster than they thought someone as tired as she could, and was nearly five feet away, shrieking "Don't touch me!" on the top of her lungs. She panted, fighting her panic attack. It was on the verge, but running now would accomplish nothing.

Stunned, the trio looked at her and the Hatter put his hands up in surrender. "Okay, I won't lassie, but we need to get to the Queen's Palace before nightfall."

Swaying in place, Adrastea shook her head. "I'm fine, I can walk." she insisted softly.

Thackery came close twitching. "Please let him carry you..." he begged, deeply concerned.

Mally jumped down from Hatter's shoulder. "Please Adrastea?" her eyes mirrored the concern of Thackery.

Shaking her head violently, Adrastea started to shake. "No..." she protested.

A roar could be heard in the distance making all of them flinch. "What was that?" demanded Adrastea, her eyes wide in terror.

The Hatter smiled. "Our ride." Adrastea turned and looked at him like he was mad, but of course he was and grinning like a mischievous schoolboy. Hooves and thumping footfalls could be heard coming closer and closer. Both Thackery and Mallymkun was trembling slightly, whether in nervousness or excitement was up for debate.

Breathing deeply and calmly, Adrastea prepared for the worst as a huge, shaggy, pale gray monster came over the hill at full speed. Speckled with black dots, it was larger in the front than the back, just like a bulldog. Still running toward them, the creature had fangs small, but deformed and sharp, black claws.

Drawing a deep breath, Adrastea roared at the creature in the face, when it was directly in front of her making it skid to a stop instantly. Baffled, the bandersnatch stared at the teenager that had just howled at it. Smiling tiredly, Adrastea leaned forward and kissed the creature's nose. "I always wanted to do that..." she murmured. "Would you mind giving me a ride to the Queen's Palace? I haven't slept much, and I'd love to have such a fearsome protector." The bandersnatch gave a slight purr and lowered itself and allowed Adrastea to get on it and lay the best she could with her messenger bag on it's shoulders.

Mounted on horses that just rose over the hill included a woman, who was dressed in a white gown that sparkled slightly, with long wavy white hair, black eyebrows and cherry red lips. "Greets White Queen Mirana of Marmoreal!" yelled Adrastea, waving slightly before she passed out.

As the group approached, Niven came over and glanced at Adrastea, who was fast asleep on the bandersnatch. When anyone got too close, the bandersnatch growled a low warning.

"Hello Tarrent Hightopp, Thackery Earwicket, and Mallymkun." greeted the Queen, as she got close. The solders with her were a precaution.

Everyone said their 'hello's, as the Queen turned her attention to the sleeping young woman. "Now who is this?" she asked.

"That is Alice's great great granddaughter, Adrastea Korbyn." replied Mallymkun, when she said that the Queen raised an eyebrow.

"Oh... this shall be interesting..." Mally motioned for the Queen to pick her up and she did, she whispered her theory into the White Queen's ear. "Oh may... this is interesting." she said with a thoughtful tone as she gave a once over the girl. "Well let's go home shall we?" she inquired with a kind smile.

Everyone got on a horse and they were off, the bandersnatch being very careful indeed to not accidentally drop its sleeping ward...


	4. Tailor and Tea

Coming slowly to consciousness, Adrastea could hear voices and giggles. Groaning slightly, she stirred then froze. She was still in her clothes, good. Groaning slightly, she got up into a sitting position. Eyes slightly stinging and bleary, she saw two maids in traditional black and white outfits come close. "Good morning Miss." they greeted in unison.

Rolling her eyes, the maids gasped at at Adrastea's eyes. "Oh dear, do you need more rest?" one asked on the left. "Your eyes are completely bloodshot." exclaimed the other one on the right.

Smiling politely, Adrastea shook her head. "My eyes are like that most mornings." she said truthfully. "In an hour or so they'll be fine." Nodding, the maids brought over a serving tray with some delicious food on it.

Stomach growling suddenly, Adrastea blushed slightly as the maids giggled. "Here you must be starved." exclaimed the one not holding the serving tray as she helped put the tray on Adrastea's lap. "Eat and then we'll have you measured for new clothes. The clothes you're wearing are quite strange." mentioned the one now without the tray.

Adrastea ate quickly as she explained the current styles in the Upperland, as the maids called her world. When she finished, one maid whisked away the tray, while the other helped her out of the high bed that even had it's own platform and stairs leading up to it.

Glancing around her, Adrastea noticed that the castle hadn't changed since her great grandmother's time; it was mostly white with pale gray and silver highlights and not very many shadows. After walking for a bit, the maid lead her to a door with a sign above it with a spool of thread with a threaded needle.

Not bothering to knock, the maid leading Adrastea opened the door and ushered her in. Gawking at the room filled with mirrors, several platforms, and an entire corner devoted to trying on hats, Adrastea didn't notice the Queen until she politely coughed. Turning, Adrastea gave a slight bow of her head in acknowledgment. "How are you?" she asked politely.

Smiling, the White Queen moved toward Adrastea, her hands proceeding her as she sort of floated as she walked. "Just fine, and you my dear?"

Adrastea beamed. "Just fine, your Majesty." she managed to reply before a small old man scampered into the room with a flexible tape measure.

The Queen smiled. "Oh Ernest, we need your expertise to measure and make some dresses for this young lady." she stated with a gracious smile. Turning to look as Adrastea, she frowned when she saw Adrastea five steps away from her and the tailor. "What is the matter, Adrastea?"

Forcing a smile, Adrastea tried to ignore the pit of dread in her abdomen. "I'm just not comfortable wearing dresses. They have fallen much out of style and preference." she murmured, timidly.

Ernest the tailor looked thoughtfully at Adrastea's clothes, which were wrinkled and had some powdered sugar on some areas. "If you could supply me with some designs of the clothes in your world, I could make some to your preference. With the Queen's permission of course." he replied, gazing at the Queen for approval.

Thoughtful, the Queen nodded. "That would be fine. Adrastea, you brought an extra set of clothes right?" When Adrastea, nodded, she smiled. "Well if you could bring both sets of clothes and anything that would help the tailor make some clothes that would make you comfortable here, and allow him to measure you, I"m sure clothes can be made for you by nightfall."

Adrastea bowed slightly. "Then may I get the clothes from my room and my laptop? My laptop has photos of all the clothes I own on it." It had been for a project in her fashion class.

Gesturing to the door, the Queen dipped her head in acceptance. "Yes you may. Ask a maid for directions to your quarters." Grinning, Adrastea fled to the door glad to stall the measurements to be done by that man.

Maids were helpful with directions, soon Adrastea was in her chambers and rummaging through her bag grabbing the clothes and laptop. Just as she was going to go back out, she stopped in front of the closet which had some clothes that looked like pj's. Smirking, Adrastea put down her load and went into the closet and changed into a long-sleeved silky dark purple top and a matching pair of pants.

Picking up the folded clothes on top of her laptop, Adrastea went back to the tailor. "Back." she announced as she came through the door.

"Good." said the Queen as she 'floated' over. "Just put them over there." Pointing to an empty table, the Queen smiled as Adrastea put the items on the table and got up on one of the circular platforms holding her arms spread, like she had done this a million times before.

Ernest the tailor came in and smiled and immediately started measuring mentally remembering all the numbers. Holding perfectly still, Adrastea breathed in and out deeply and slowly. 'Calm... You're not here... You're flying, high in the sky...' she thought mentally.

Once the measurements was done, Adrastea got off the platform. The Queen looking at her thoughtfully. "Most women can't stop talking when they are measured and yet you make yourself so calm that you seem to not be there at all." she mused.

Shrugging, Adrastea glanced around the room. Spotting the tailor, she jogged over to him. "My laptop is strange to here. Would you like to learn how to use it?" she inquired. When Ernest nodded, she went and spent an hour teaching him the basics and soon he was a whiz.

After the lesson, the tailor looked at Adrastea. "If only I had one of these, it would be very simple to remember everyone's measurements and design new gowns."

Smiling, Adrastea patted his shoulder. "Maybe I'll leave it with you for a while." she said. "I'd better go, it's almost tea time."

Beaming, the tailor gave her directions to the garden. "The tea party is almost always there." he explained. "Most of your clothes should be done by tomorrow."

Leaving with a smile plastered all over her face, Adrastea left to the garden, taking out her iPod as she walked. Listening to the guitar and drums and bass opening, she started to sing forgetting no one else could hear the music.

'_There's somethin' 'bout the way the street looks when it's just rained. There's a glow off the pavement,you walk me to the car. And you know I wanna ask you to dance right there. In the middle of the parking lot, yeah..._' Walking down the hallways, maids and other servants were staring at the young lady singing beautifully without music. Adrastea didn't noticed as she watched where she stepped, since she was barefoot.

'_We're drivin' down the road, I wonder if you know. I'm tryin' so hard not to get caught up now, But you're just so cool, run your hands through your hair, absent-absentmindedly makin' me want you_.'Adrastea kept absent-absentmindedly singing as she when through the maze.

'_And I don't know how it gets better than this. You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless. And I don't know why but with you I dance. In a storm in my best dress, fearless._' Sitting on a bench, when she stepped on a rock, Adrastea kept singing as she rubbed her foot.

_'So baby drive slow 'til we run out of road. In this one horse town, I wanna stay right here. In this passenger seat, you put your eyes on me. In this moment, now capture it, remember it_.' Since the pain in her foot was gone, Adrastea got up and found a beautiful fountain. Sitting on the side, staring into the water, she kept singing.

_'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this. You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless. And I don't know why but with you I'd dance. In a storm in my best dress, fearless_.' Smiling at the fish swimming around, Adrastea didn't notice a group gathering at one of the maze's entrance to the fountain. She touched the water to make ripples before deciding to go for tea.

'_Well, you stood there with me in the doorway. My hands shake, I'm not usually this way. But you pull me in and I'm a little more brave. It's the first kiss, it's flawless, really somethin'. It's fearless_.' Still not seeing the group, Adrastea moved to the entrance that would take her to the flower beds before the gazebo where the tea party was today.

'_Cause I don't know how it gets better than this. You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless. And I don't know why but with you I'd dance. In a storm in my best dress, fearless_.' She sang as she past the flowers and rounded a corner.

'_Cause I don't know how it gets better than this. You take my hand and drag me headfirst, fearless. And I don't know why but with you I'd dance. In a storm in my best dress, fearless._' Singing still, Adrastea turned a corner and came to the gazebo and everyone was staring at he like she grew a horn or wings. "What?" she asked, when the song ended, pulling out her headphones and turned her iPod off.

Everyone was still staring, even the Queen. Getting slightly annoyed, Adrastea turned around to escape when she noticed the group of people that were behind her. There was a blue dodo bird, roly-poly twins in striped shirts, a electric blue butterfly sitting on one of the twins' head, and a small group of people from the White Queen's court dressed in white with white hair (natural or fake wigs), pale skin and white with pale gray and silver trimmings.

Turning crimson, Adrastea glanced behind her too, where the Hatter, Mally, the Queen and Thackery were. "I"m disappearing, sorry I'm missing tea today!" she exclaimed and she dashed past the Hatter and through one of the unoccupied maze entrances as everyone stood stunned.

* * *

The song is "Fearless" by Taylor Swift.


	5. Tea in the Garden

"I do believe large crowds scare her." cooed Chessur, who appeared out of nowhere. "Especially when she least expects the staring." he added after a thought.

The crowd dispersed and the Hatter sighed as he went through the opening that Adrastea ran through and turned randomly until he could vaguely hear her singing softly. '_She walks to school with the lunchie pack. Nobody knows what she's holding back. Wearing the same dress she wore yesterday. She hides the bruises with the linen and lace, oh.._.' Sitting on a bench of stone, she has her headphones in again as she sung.

'So sad..." The Hatter thought as he hid behind the hedge corners of the maze.

'_The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask. It's hard to see the pain behind the mask. Bearing the burden of a secret storm. Sometimes she wishes she was never born.._' A single tear runs down Adrastea's cheek as she sings. Her face is turned to the sky.

'_Through the wind and the rain she stands hard as a stone. In a world that she can't rise above. But her dreams give her wings and she flies to a place. Where she's loved concrete angel..._' Singing with pain and sadness in very voice, Adrastea didn't know she was crying as the Hatter watched silently, unable to do anything. _'Somebody cries in the middle of the night. The neighbors hear but they turn out the light. A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate. When morning comes it will be too late...'_

'_Through the wind and the rain she stands hard as a stone. In a world that she can't rise above. But her dreams give her wings and she flies to a place. Where she's loved concrete angel..._' Still crying, Adrastea sang with all her heart. '_A statue stands in a shaded place. An angel girl with an upturned face. A name is written on a polished rock. A broken heart that the world forgot...'_

'A grave...' The Hatter thought as he pieced together the lyrics. '_Through the wind and the rain she stands hard as a stone. In a world that she can't rise above. But her dreams give her wings and she flies to a place. Where she's loved concrete angel..._' Adrastea sang the last bit before she calmed herself and wiped away the tears on her face.

Deciding to make an appearance, Hatter backed up a bit and made some noise as he appeared. "Oh there you are, lass. Coming to tea?" he asked, bowing slightly. Adrastea's eyes were still slightly red and puffy, but she laughed.

Joy flew into the Hatter's heart as she laughed, replacing the sadness from before. Making a goofy smile, he bowed again taking off his hat. "Well let us be on our way." Rising, Adrastea followed him back to the tea party, where it had already started.

Mallymkun looked up and gasped. "She's back!" she exclaimed as she jumped up and started to dance a little. "We thought both of you would miss tea."

Hatter got a face of utter shock. "Miss tea?! We could be late, but never miss tea!" his voice was such agast at the very idea.

Giggling, Adrastea smiled. "I'm sorry for running out before I was just so mortified. I've never draw a large crowd from just singing."

The Queen motioned for them to sit. "Well drink and rest. Afterward I'm off to plan for the ball tomorrow night."

Adrastea's eyes widened. "Ball?!" The thought of so many people and expectations... She stared down at her tea cup.

* * *

This song is "Concrete Angel" by Martina McBride.


	6. The Ball

Unfazed, the Queen nodded. "Yes, of course you know what your great grandmother Alice did for Underland. We must have a ball in honor of her life and of you, her kin, to have discovered Underland." she explained delicately.

Adrastea stared at her untouched tea. "I don't know how to dance... and I might be able to design a gown for the tailor to make that would be appropriate..." she murmured her mind already thinking of just the gown.

Getting up gracefully, the Queen reached a hand to Adrastea. "Then we must let him know, now shouldn't we?" Taking the offered hand, Adrastea was taken up. "May we excused early from tea?" asked the Queen. With a chorus of nods, they left to the tailor, to inform him of a gown to be made that would fit the ball better than the clothes he was working on.

The tailor was busy indeed. When the Queen and Adrastea entered his workshop, there was half finished clothes for Adrastea everywhere and the tailor seemed to be everywhere at once. "Uhum, Ernest?" interrupted the Queen.

Looking over, the tailor broke into a smile. "Yes? What do you need your Majesty?" he asked, rubbing his hands together as he walked over itching to be back at work.

"You are aware there is a ball tomorrow night?" asked the Queen. The tailor's eyes widened as he violently shook his head. "Well Adrastea is in sore need of a gown to fit the occasion, that still fits her preference. Would you be willing to pause working on everyday clothes for her, to make a gown for her to wear?" inquired the Queen.

Face breaking into a huge grin, the tailor bowed. "I'd welcome such a challenge, your Highness." Turning to Adrastea, the tailor winked. "Well come now, we must get to work."

Bidding them farewell, the Queen left while Adrastea and Ernest got down to work with a piece of paper, a pencil, and an eraser. After two hours of debate and lots of erasing, the gown on paper was ready to be made onto 3D. Shooing Adrastea out of the room, the tailor glanced at the drawing before he grinned and grabbed it and ran to the workshop of the Hatter.

Falling onto her bed exhausted, Adrastea fell asleep. Sleeping through dinner and most of the morning, Adrastea woke up well rested and content. The maids were waiting for her outside her bed chamber with a serving tray of food. Smiling, Adrastea startled the two by jumping silently out of her bed chamber and roaring at them. Shrieking, the maids fell off their chairs, then started to laugh when they realized who it was.

After she ate, Adrastea was pampered in every way imaginable, only protesting to do her own makeup and jewelry. When she was ready for the ball, after a full day of preparing and beautifying up, Adrastea was nervous about going down the grand staircase like Cinderella to meet her date for the night.

Hatter was waiting with a box at the foot of the grand staircase waiting for his date, whom the Queen choose for him (since he didn't have time to pick one this morning). He hoped to see Adrastea and surprise her with the contents of the box he currently held.

A trumpet went off startling Adrastea, but music started, soothing her greatly. Now full of confidence, she walked down the steps gracefully and holding part of her skirts up with one hand, while holding onto the railing with the other. Gazing across the room at all the dancing couples and the Queen siting on her silver throne watching them with a faint smile. Something caught her sight in the corner of her eyes and staring, Adrastea saw the Hatter holding a red box. He was wearing his normal top hat and was now wearing a black suit and his hair was only slightly more tame.

The breath left the Hatter when he saw her. She was really too beautiful...

The dress she wore was violet ball gown and the design was very unique... just like her. Violet like the beautiful flowers with the same name in the garden was the main color. Floor length with cream petticoats trimmed with lace, the gown had a bodice that was similar to a corset style but in the front was darker purple fabric that was scrunched up. There was dark violet straps on the corset but there was also off the shoulder long sleeves as well. These sleeves were the same violet as the skirt and were trimmed with cream lace, like the petticoats, and ended at her elbow on the top and half-way down her forearm in the back. Dark purple fingerless gloves went from the base of Adrastea's knuckles to ¾ up her arms. In the back was a huge dark violet bow whose ends tailed on the floor slightly.

Adrastea's hair was curled and pulled back slightly, leaving her bangs and the locks that normally framed her face alone. Wearing black mascara that made her eyelashes look more noticeable and darker, as well as her eyelids were covered in violet eyeshadow and the creases with darker violet eyeshadow, silver highlighted her brow bones and the center of her lids, giving them more depth. With some pink blush and nude lipstick and gloss, Adrastea's makeup was stunning.

As Adrastea drew closer to the Hatter, he felt his heart start to beat faster. As she got closer he also noticed she was wearing dark silver earring with dangling butterflies and roses, and the necklace she wore had a single large butterfly and smaller roses around on the chain. Blushing slightly, Adrastea stopped in front of the Hatter. "I assume you are my date for the night?" she asked as he nodded numbly.

Remembering the box, the Hatter fumbled with it. "Close your eyes." he said as he opened it. Doing as she was told, Adrastea closed her eyes as the Hatter put something on her head. Confused, she held still and felt something light cover her hair. When he was done, the Hatter told her to open her eyes and when she did he was holding up a mirror. Gasping, she turned and looked at the hat she was wearing in wonder.

The hat was cleverly put onto a headband so when it was put in Adrastea's ebony hair, you couldn't tell it was there. Mounted on this hairband was a gold moon, that sparkled in the light and contrasted sharply with the gown so it looked perfect. A pale violet veil flowed behind the moon, softly covering her hair and ended just before the bow in the back of her gown. Adrastea's smile lifted the Hatter;s heart to the sky. 'She loves it!' he thought happily as he held out his arm for her to take.

Suddenly unsure, Adrastea glanced at the Hatter who looked so happy, she gave a weak smile and took his arm. Leading her to the Queen, who gracefully offered her the smaller silver chair next to her throne. Sitting down, Adrastea started to people watch. Hatter knew that she probably didn't want to dance so he moved to watch Mallymkun and Thackery dance, or rather Thackery swing Mally around in circles while they both laughed in delight.

Hatter watched wondering what do should he ask Adrastea to dance or should he leave her alone? Pondering this question, the Hatter failed to see men go up to Adrastea and ask her to dance and each one she turned down. After a long while, Adrastea grew bored as the Queen announced it was time for dinner. Everyone left for the huge tables as Adrastea was lead up to sit with the Queen next to Hatter. Picking at her food, Adrastea resisted the urge to rub her eyes.

The Queen placed a hand on Adrastea's arm. "Would you mind singing for all of us?" she asked softly.

Blinking, Adrastea considered it. "How would everyone hear the music and me?"

Smiling, the Queen tapped a page who brought a leaf that was rolled. Holding it away from her mouth, the Queen spoke. "It amplifies the sound of anything near the mouth of it." she explained. "You don't have to if you don't want to..."

Grinning, Adrastea pulled out her iPod. "I'd love to.." she said softly as she took the leaf and moved to the stage that was being set up. Walking carefully, Adrastea choose the karaoke song she wanted and knew by heart. Waiting, she put her iPod on pause and set up the leaf so if she sang it would pick it up too. Getting the ball's attention, the Queen stood up, taking a rolled leaf of her own. "Our Alice who saved Underland and then went back to her own world is no longer with us."

Murmurs burst out all over the room, waiting for them to die the Queen then continued. "Though Alice herself is no longer with us, he great granddaughter Adrastea is." Everyone followed the Queen's gaze to the young woman in purple on the stage. "And she will sing us all a song... Now be nice and listen..."

Following her cue, Adrastea started her music. The piano filled the banquet hall as Adrastea counted the notes for her start. Opening her mouth, Adrastea began to sing. '_Making my way downtown, walking fast, faces pass and I'm home bound..._'The crowd was stunned, except for those who had heard her sing before, but it didn't do much to prepare them.

_'Staring blankly ahead just making my way making a way through the crowd.' Adrastea started to sway to the music. 'And I need you... And I miss you... And now I wonder..._' Holding her hands to her chest as she demonstrated the need and want, and holding a finger to her chin in wonder. '_If I could fall into the sky, Do you think Time would pass me by? 'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you... Tonight..._' Smiling, Adrastea moved across the stage.

'_It's always times like these when I think of you and I wonder if you ever think of me..._' Adrastea sang beautifully and added motions to her lyrics. '_Cause every thing's so wrong and I don't belong living in your precious memory..._' The Hatter was starstruck about this girl. She was so different in muchness.

_'Cause I need you... And I miss you... And now I wonder..._'Repeating the same motions from before, Adrastea glanced up at Chessur who was now floating above her and grinned. '_If I could fall into the sky Do you think Time would pass me by? 'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles if I could just see you... Tonight..._' Mally did a short dance for the interlude with Thackery of course.

'_And I, I... Don't want to let you know... I, I... Drown in your memory... I, I... Don't want to let this go... I, I... Don't..._' Titling her head up at the last word, Adrastea seemed to direct this to heaven. '_Making my way downtown, walking fast, faces pass and I'm home bound...Staring blankly ahead just making my way making a way through the crowd...'_

'_And I still need you... And I still miss you... And now I wonder..._' Looking over the crowd as if to find someone to sing this directly to, Adrastea sent chills down the spines of those her eyes grazed. '_If I could fall into the sky Do you think time would pass us by? 'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles If I could just see you...'_

_'If I could fall into the sky Do you think time would pass me by? 'Cause you know I'd walk a thousand miles If I could just see you... If I could just hold you...'_ Holding her arms around her shoulders as if holding something dear close, Adrastea looked up to sing the last word. '_Tonight..._' As the last notes of the music died away, the crowd burst into clapping and encores. Dipping into a deep bow, Adrastea gathered her iPod in her hands looked at it and selected another song.

Smiling, she put the iPod down to begin. "Oh just one more..." she said as the crowd shushed to wait for the beginning of the next song. 'When I was just a little girl, my momma used to tuck me into bed and she read me a story. It always was about a Princess in distress and how a guy would save her and end up with the glory.' Mallymkun nodded in approval.

_'I'd lie in bed and think about the person that I wanted to be. Then one day I realized the fairy tale life wasn't for me'_. Shaking her finger as if to scold, Adrastea grinned as she pranced around the stage.

_'I don't wanna be like Cinderella, sittin' in a dark old dusty cellar. Waiting for somebody, to come and set me free. I don't wanna be like Snow White waiting for a handsome prince to come and save me on a horse of white, unless we're riding side by side. Don't want to depend on no-one else I'd rather rescue myself.'_Adrastea remembered how this song used to cheer her up when life got hard. She smiled as she remembered the stories of the Upperland.

'_Someday I'm gonna find someone who wants my soul, heart and mind. Who's not afraid to show that he loves me. Somebody who will understand I'm happy just the way I am. Don't need nobody taking care of me._' Holding herself close again, Adrastea imagined someone to hold her close. '_I will be there for him just as strong as he, will be there for me When I give myself then it has got to be, an equal thing._'

'_I don't wanna be like Cinderella, sittin' in a dark old dusty cellar. Waiting for somebody, to come and set me free. I don't wanna be like Snow White waiting for a handsome prince to come and save me on a horse of white, unless we're riding side by side. Don't want to depend on no-one else I'd rather rescue myself._' Twirling, Adrastea pranced around the stage as she sang.

'_I can slay my own dragon. I can dream my own dreams. My knight in shining armor is me. So I'm gonna set me free.'_ "Slaying the dragon", she swung an imaginary sword. Punching the arm in triumph, Adrastea didn't know everyone was reminded of Alice by those lyrics.

_'I don't wanna be like Cinderella, sittin' in a dark old dusty cellar. Waiting for somebody, to come and set me free. I don't wanna be like Snow White waiting for a handsome prince to come and save me. Oh... I don't wanna be like Cinderella, sittin' in a dark old dusty cellar. Waiting for somebody, to come and set me free. I don't wanna be like Snow White waiting for a handsome prince to come and save me on a horse of white, unless we're riding side by side. Don't want to depend on no-one else I'd rather rescue myself._' Adrastea stopped in the center of the stage with a defiant look in her eyes.

'_I don't wanna be like Cinderella, sittin' in a dark old dusty cellar. Waiting for somebody, to come and set me free. I don't wanna be like Snow White waiting for a handsome prince to come and save me on a horse of white, unless we're riding side by side. Don't want to depend on no-one else I'd rather rescue myself._' Adrastea sang the last line with all her heart. Clapping like before, some people stood up this time and whistled (like Mallymkun). Bowing again, Adrastea took her iPod and returned to her seat beside the Queen...

* * *

The first song is "Thousand Miles" by Vanessa Carlton. The other song is "Cinderella" by Tata Young or the Cheetah Girls, whichever one you like better.


	7. Test of Wills

Tired, Adrastea watched the dancers. They had returned to the ballroom to continue dancing in her and Alice's honor. The Hatter watched Adrastea noting she was getting very tired. Mustering up the courage, he went up to the Queen. "May I take Adrastea to the gardens and if she doesn't get more... energized, may I take her up to her rooms?"

Smiling, the Queen nodded knowing that the Hatter would be a gentleman. Taking the exhausted Adrastea by the arm, the Hatter lead her to the cool garden to sit. Nodding off gone for the most part, Adrastea felt better in the cool air of the nature's gifts than in the slightly stuffy ballroom. "Thank you," she murmured.

Beaming, the Hatter felt prideful. "You're very welcome Adrastea." he replied, with flourish. "Do you know how a raven is like a writing desk?" he asked.

Adrastea giggled. "I had my whole life to prepare for that one... Because they both come with inky quills."

Staring at her, the Hatter pondered her answer. "I guess that works... I thought it didn't have an answer." he replied after a moment.

Adrastea looked at the sky. "Do you want to know what happened to Alice? After Absolem as a butterfly saw her set to the sea to China?" questioned Adrastea, after a short moment of silence.

Hatter nodded. "I do." he said as he got closer, sitting on the bench next to Adrastea.

Sighing, Adrastea kept her eyes toward the stars. "She was successful is spreading her father's company to Asia, but trouble began when she finally returned to England from Underland." Pausing for a moment, she continued. "When she fell down the rabbit hole, she was proposed to by a Lord Hamish Ascot. When she came back it was like no time had passed and he was still there and she turned him down. Though she was polite in the way she refused, he didn't like the fact a woman was doing better in business than he was..." Adrastea's voice trailed off.

"What happened?" asked the Hatter, softly.

Adrastea didn't move her eyes from the night sky. "He arranged for her to be raped... She was raped by several men at once..." Hatter's eyes turned orange, as Adrastea continued. "She became with a child, and was deemed as a whore, since she wasn't married. She died having my grandmother at the age of 34."

Turning her eyes sadly from the sky, Adrastea turned to look at Hatter. Her eyes widened in fright as his eyes remained orange as he started swearing in Scottish, complete with an accent. "Hatter?" He looked at her, his eyes full of rage.

Breathing calmly, Adrastea stood up and walked in front of the sitting madman. Exhaling, she slapped him as hard as she could again. Slowly, Hatter's head turned back, not stunned like last time. Standing up, he advanced on Adrastea who slowly backed away. Rising his hand, Hatter slapped Adrastea, so hard her face burned and was turned hard to one angle.

Turning her head slowly, like the Hatter had before, Adrastea's eyes found the Hatter's and in the back of his mind red alarms were going off. Adrastea's left eye was gold, burning with rage and hate, while her right eye was brown.

Staring each other down, the two slowly circled each other. Suddenly, Adrastea struck, years of martial arts kicking in, first she catch the Hatter's right arm twisted it behind him, made him go face-first into the stone pathway, and then sat on him, his left arm pinned underneath him.

Not even panting, Adrastea breathed deeply and slowly calming down. The Hatter settled down too, but more against his will than anything. As soon as he wasn't panting and his eyes were only a dull orange bordering on green.

"She could have decided not to have the child. She could have just went home. Alice decided to pass on a journal of her adventures and life to all her kin. She was brave and didn't give up." hissed Adrastea. "You should be glad to have at least that little bit of Alice alive. She bore a child of her own out of love, even though the child wasn't made from love, Tarrent Hightopp."

Tarrent froze and shuddered, his eyes returning to green. "She is still here... in you, isn't she?"

Adrastea smiled and got up off of him, and helped him up. "That she is, that she is, Hatter..."

"Please call me Tarrent." replied the Hatter, bashfully part from Adrastea and from his actions.

Adrastea winked at his back before disappearing behind him, into the maze. "Alright, Tarrent..."

Tarrent turned around but Adrastea was already gone. "Goodnight, lassie..." he murmured, his gaze turning to the stars...

When Adrastea got back to her room, she was undressing from the moment her chamber done shut and she was walking to her bed chamber to bathe before bed. Leaving a suggestive trail of clothes and jewelry, Adrastea was naked when she got to the bathroom and started the water as she brushed her hair out.

Washing all the makeup and perfume from her body, Adrastea gave a sad look at her skin before she got dressed in a long-sleeved floor-length pale blue nightgown and climbed into bed...


	8. Memories

_**A burly man with a knife advanced on the wounded naked child on the floor. Alcohol and tobacco stained his breath, drugs making the crazy look in his eyes. Pupils dilated in the center of his hazel bloodshot eyes. Skin tanned from outside odd jobs for hours to support his habits and feed himself every now and again. The child on the dirty brown carpet was female, nearly seven years old. The wound across her chest was bleeding rapidly as she grew paler as the man came closer.**_

_**"Mommy..." the words slipped from her mouth as she stared at the man who was her father come closer with her death. Filthy black hair was almost never washed, as the girl slaved to clean the house and keep her father happy. Silent tears fell down her cheeks as she closed her eyes.**_

_**A violet flash, the girl opened her eyes to see a woman, judging from her curves and breasts. Turning around, the woman dropped the knife that was stained with red blood, her father's blood, next to the headless male. Kneeling, she hugged the child. "Don't fear..."**_

_**Bursting into sobs, the girl held onto the woman for dear life. Patting her head, the woman cooed past her mask. "I must go, girlie."**_

_**"Why?" asked the child, pale from blood loss.**_

_**Sirens could be heard from outside. "Because we'll meet again, in a different place, at a different time. But we'll meet, ok?" Nodding, the child slipped into unconsciousness. "Goodbye... Adrastea..." said the woman before she disappeared into a purple flash.**_

Screaming, Adrastea sat up suddenly from her sleep. Running in was some maids from the hallway, who saw her still in bed and sweating. Cooing to her, the maids comforted the trembling teenager. When Adrastea finally calmed down, she looked up and all the maids gasped. "What is it now?" asked Adrastea. Pointing at a mirror, the maids followed, Adrastea gaze at her eyes and curse. "I lost a contact..."

"Contact?" asked one of the older maids.

Adrastea smiled. "Yes, it's something you can put on your eye to help you see better or change the color of your eyes... like mine did..." she explained, sighing at the end. "I lost one of them so I'd better go take this one out too..." Going to the bathroom, some of the more curious maids watched and gasped as Adrastea took out the colored contact.

"Your natural eye color is beautiful." murmured a maid. "I don't know why you change it."

Suppressing a shudder, Adrastea faked a smile. "In my world, I would be shunned and such for these eyes." Curiosity satisfied, the maids left while Adrastea went to get dress privately, in the new clothes that the tailor had sent over that morning.

Dressed a long floor-length brown skirt with a pair of brown boots, brown tank top over a pale blue shirt, Adrastea went to library. She had been told where it was by the tailor and had wanted to visit for a while. Once she got there, the bookworm part of her took over and she read anything in English that she could find...

Hatter found Adrastea in a isolated corner of the library. Everyone was searching for her. She was asleep on a couch with a book in her lap. Making noises in her sleep, Tarrent wondered whether or not to wake her or just tell everyone where she was. Deciding to compromise, he gently picked her up and started to carry her to the Queen. Shifting slightly, Adrastea didn't wake up...

_**Short grunts of male pleasure came from the man above her. He was familiar... he was her father. She was sleeping peacefully, when he came in and ripped the pink night gown and her favorite striped panties off of her. He smelt like alcohol, he had been drinking when she went to bed.**_

_**When she was naked was the wake up call, she started to kick and scream. Surprised, the man held her legs open with a thigh, as he covered her mouth with a hand. Eyes widened as he opened his fly and his harden member popped out. He thrust forward and she screamed in pain as he grunted in pleasure. Tears kept pouring down her face she felt like her middle was being ripped open with a knife.**_

_**He kept moving in and out of his five year old daughter. She cried and screamed. After a while, she began to die inside. Eyes took on a dead gaze as he continued. With one final thrust after what felt like hours, he came. Sliding out of her, he put his equipment away and stumbled out of his daughter's bedroom door. Dead eyes following him.**_

_**She lay there for the rest of the night half there, half not. Pink and white bedding stained with red blood, her blood. The nightmare began...**_

Mallymkun sat on the couch watching Adrastea sleep. Worried, the girl hadn't stirred in an hour, even with Thackery throwing a cup and a plate against the wall. Wetness gathered in the corners of Adrastea's eyes, only farther worrying the dormouse. "Hatter?" requested Mally.

Coming over, Tarrent noticed the tears on Adrastea's cheeks. "Should we wake her up?" The dormouse nodded. Gulping, the Hatter gently shook the sleeping figure. Something seemed to be working but suddenly Adrastea sat up and once she saw Tarrent, she screamed.

Terrified, the teenager dumped Mallymkun on the couch when she got up and leaped over the Hatter's head. Turning, she dropped into a crouch, glaring at the confused man. Pupils slitted like a cat, Adrastea's now scarlet eyes stared at Tarrent as she bared her teeth and gave a low growl. Stunned, the group behind Adrastea didn't move as she slowly backed up.

"Now, now lassie. I didn't think waking you up would make you that mad..." said Tarrent, holding his hands up in surrender. Green eyes going yellow with confusion.

Adrastea responded with a hiss, which sounded odd with her throat. Mallymkun came past Tarrent's legs and came closer. "He won't hurt you." she said, her voice shaking slightly. Scarlet eyes didn't leave Tarrent as Mally came close enough to touch Adrastea. "It's the Mad Hatter, remember Adrastea? He won't hurt you, no one here will..." comforted the dormouse.

Eyes closing slightly, then completely. Adrastea collapsed, Mallymkun moving just in time. As she fell, the Queen moved. "I think you are right, Mallymkun, on your theory." she said as she knelt beside Adrastea.

"What theory is that?" asked Tarrent, still slightly confused.

The Queen gazed up at him. "She scared of men. I don't know why but she is." her voice wavered slightly in pity.

Staring down at the girl who was just about to tear his throat out, the Hatter felt bad. "Alice was raped by men paid to do so. She was shunned and gave birth to a child after that... She died in childbirth." he said, numbly. Everyone stared at him in shock. "Adrastea told me..." he murmured, answering their unspoken question.

Gazes returned to Adrastea. "I might become fearful of men, after something like that..." muttered Mallymkun. As all the gazes turned to the girl placed back on the couch, each eye filled with sympathy...

_**Pain, so much pain... She has never been in so much pain before... Through her teary eyes, she watched in morbid fascination as the man continued to burn her with a red hot fire poker. It was leaving third-degree burns where ever he put it for a moment or so.**_

_**Not moving for fear of something worst than just another burning session, she held still. Crying, but motionless, the girl watched the burns being left on her pale skin...**_

_**Armed with a sharp knife, the man sliced open her arms and legs for screaming during sex again. The burn scars were sliced open also. He didn't care about the blood, he wanted her to feel pain. From her blue eyes, he was succeeding. He kept going until he felt done and left her to bleed, the bitch would never die from blood loss...**_


	9. Girl Fun Gone Way Bad

Adrastea woke, feeling very much rested. Walking to the closet, she changed into a pair of neon pink skinny jeans with a bright yellow long sleeved shirt and a neon orange vest. Slipping on some socks and her brown boots, she left her room, wondering if she dreamed of going to the library or if she simply fell asleep and was carried here.

Seeing no maids, Adrastea left her room, stomach growling at her. When she knocked on the kitchen door, she heard the Queen say, "Come in." Poking her head in, she smiled at the Queen and Thackery, who was throwing things against the wall.

"Hungry?" inquired the Queen, with a soft smile. Nodding, Adrastea went over to her. "It's no surprise, we found you asleep in the library and you slept the day away..." the Queen's voice trailed off as she stared at Adrastea's eyes. "Oh, dear. Your eyes..."

Adrastea smirked. "I lost my contacts, I know, they're most likely violet right now."

Smiling, the Queen 'floated' closer. "Do these contacts hide your true eye color?"

Adrastea sighed. "They can or improve your vision. But these were just colored ones." Thoughtful, the Queen led her to a small table with two chairs. Sitting down, they both were served some breakfast pastries by Thackery, who then resumed his ranting and throwing.

"So why did you choose to hide your eye color?" questioned the Queen as she nibbled delicately on a bit of donut.

Adrastea sipped on some milk before she answered, her eyes flashing a blue-green color. "Because in Upperland, eyes like mine would cause negative things."

Not commenting, the Queen wondered if Adrastea was harmed from her eyes changing color. Finishing her meal, Adrastea watched the Queen, who seemed lost in thought. Fishing out her iPod, she started to listen to some music, with one headphone in her left ear and the other dangling. Half listening to 'Punkbitch' but 3OH!3, she noticed that Thackery was gone.

Unfamiliar music snapped the Queen out of her thoughts. "Oh. I'm sorry, I got lost in my thoughts. Would you mind attending Mallymkun and I to go swimming?" asked the Queen.

Adrastea loved to swim, and was now caught between hiding and having fun. "I would love to... but I don't have a swimsuit." replied Adrastea.

Getting up, the Queen motioned for her to follow. "I'm sure we could find something." Unwilling, Adrastea got up and followed her to a new room. Gawking, she stared at the huge pool built into the ground like traditional pools. Only this one had parts like a Jacuzzi, a wave maker and slides on the different levels. Gazing at one of the waterfalls, she felt like she could go skinny dipping just to swim.

Smiling like a child with a new toy, Adrastea put up her iPod into her jeans. The Queen lead her to the dressing rooms, where Mally was already in a mini green one-piece. On one side of the wall was ever color of swimsuit imaginable, and on the opposite wall was stalls for dressing and undressing in.

Mallymkun jumped up and down. "Pick out a swimsuit so we can get going you two!" she exclaimed. Smiling, the Queen choose a white one-piece with silver stars all over it. Heeding the words of the dormouse, Adrastea came forward and choose a black bikini with multicolored butterflies all over it. Slipping into the nearest stall, she undressed, putting on the beautiful bikini.

Looking at herself in the mirror on the wall, Adrastea sighed. She looked like Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Well if Sally had black hair. Her breasts were busting out of the bikini and her long legs looked even longer. Giving one last sigh and glance in the mirror, Adrastea stepped out of the stall and froze.

The Queen stopped talking to Tarrent, who had burst in saying an older man was here and was asking for Adrastea. The Hatter kept talking, until he noticed the Queen wasn't listening and was looking past him. Turning around, his eyes caught a sight that was permanently burned into his mind.

Standing timidly, and now frozen, was Adrastea. Wearing a black bikini with butterflies of every color, she figure was slim and muscular. "So pale..." he murmured. Her long hair was in waves of darkness that curled at the ends, ending about her mid-thigh. Breasts were perky and large, barely covered by the bikini. Then he saw them, so ugly, deformed, so wrong, they didn't belong on her skin.

Scars upon layer of scars, from Adrastea's wrists to ¾ up her arms, and from a few on top of her feet to the skin the bikini bottoms were covering. Thin scars from a knife to thick bumpy scars from burns covered skin, no pattern to be simply an accident. 'Someone did this to her.' thought Tarrent, his eyes turning orange. One long jagged scar went from two inches below her collarbone to two inches below her right breast, the ends visible from the skin the bikini wasn't covering.

Adrastea's went from violet to pale gray to blue to green to settle on scarlet again. Pupils dilated to slits as she started to pant. Scarlet and orange eyes met as Adrastea backed up into the wall. Hissing, she crouched.

The Queen watched this, not sure what to do. "Fear..." she murmured, before it dawned on her. "Tarrent! She's scared, that's what scarlet eyes mean!"

Unnoticed, Mallymkun, still in her swimsuit, moved behind Adrastea, armed with her 'sword'. "Forgive me..." she muttered, before stabbing Adrastea's foot. Yelping in pain, Adrastea's eyes turned blue and stayed that color as she leaned down to rub her foot.

Concerned, the Queen rushed forward murmuring comfort as Adrastea calmed down her eyes returning to violet. Tarrent stood there, trembling slightly. "Who did this to you?" he asked, voice thick with a Scottish accent.

Glancing up, Adrastea turned her head away. "It doesn't matter..."

Stomping over, the Hatter knelt in front of her. "It does to me, Adrastea. Now who did this?" he asked again. Deciding Adrastea had been through enough, the Queen shushed him.

Getting up, The Queen looked at Adrastea and Mallymkun. "We must get dressed. There is a man waiting for us... He says he knows Adrastea." Turning, she looked at Tarrent. "Tarrent, please calm down. We'll tend to this matter, when we are all properly dressed."

Nodding, the Hatter left, eyes turning green then blue. "Poor lass. I'd bet my hatting talent, that she is scared of men because whoever did that to her was male." he muttered to himself as he made his way back to the throne room where he left the man.


	10. Death and Comfort

Dressed, Adrastea was shaking slightly as she was lead to the throne room by the Queen. Head down, she sat beside the Queen's throne as she heard a voice she thought she'd never hear again.

"Hello Adrastea." greeted a male, with a smile. Looking up, Adrastea's eyes turned scarlet, but her pupils stayed the same. Kneeling before the Queen was a muscular man with hazel eyes and tanned skin. Grinning like a psychopath, he stared at the teenager, who was now trembling like a leaf. "It's been about ten years hasn't it?"

Eyes narrowing, the Queen glanced at Adrastea and the strange man. "Who are you?" she inquired, drawing his attention from Adrastea.

Giving the Queen a toothy grin, he bowed slightly. "I am Albert Korbyn, Adrastea's father. I haven't seen her for ten years."

Instantly, Tarrent was behind the man who called himself Adrastea's father. He didn't like her reaction one bit. Gazing up at Adrastea, he saw her look at him, her eyes turning a calm purple. "May I ask for one thing, your Majesty?" she asked as she stood up and began walking forward.

Frowning, the Queen didn't take her eyes off the man between Adrastea and Tarrent. "Yes you may."

"Can I stop all my nightmares once and for all?" Eyes turned a brown color, a color that Tarrent never forgot.

"Yes." breathed the Queen, as Tarrent whispered. "Alice..."

Adrastea moved once and that was all it took for the man called her father to die. She effortlessly plunged her hand into his chest and pulled out a heart. A heart as black as the darkest moonless night. Blood oozed out of it and onto the corpse and Adrastea's sleeve. "Repent for every sin you gave my kin." murmured a voice that stunned the throne room.

Dropping the organ, Adrastea's body walked to the Hatter. "Tarrent, I ask for your forgiveness for not returning to Underland."

Speechless, the Hatter nodded, making Adrastea's possessed lips smile. "Then I ask for my last kin to be protected. A terrible curse was placed on them when I died. None of my kin was male only female. Each mother dying in childbirth bearing another female child, conceived by rape."

Stunned, everyone in the throne room could barely breath. Alice within Adrastea's body continued. "The cycle changed with this one. She was raped when she was still very young. Her father made those scars on her body. Though going through all this, she still remained strong and didn't flee." Pausing for a moment, she continued. "I believe she was to be the one to return to Underland, in my place. Protect her, for me."

Nodding violently, Tarrent was rewarded with a kiss on the cheek. "Thank you, my Hatter. She will no longer fear any males that I met on my visits here." Turning, Alice who at the same time wasn't Alice bowed before the Queen. "I leave her in all my friend's care." Getting up with tears pouring down her face, Adrastea's body gave a shudder and collapsed as a ghost version of Alice spoken her last words. "Farewell, but farewell doesn't mean forever." Disappearing, Alice's ghost gave Adrastea's forehead a kiss.

Hand on the cheek that Alice kissed, Tarrent rushed forward to Adrastea. "Adrastea!" Kneeling beside her, he made sure she was alright. Joining him, the Queen felt her forehead. "She's fine. I think it was to be expected..."

"I hope you're right..." murmured the Hatter as he carefully picked her up and carried her to her room. Laying her on the bed, some maids shooed him out as they undressed her.

Pacing outside Adrastea's bedchamber, Tarrent wanted to comfort Adrastea, hold her close. When the maids finally left, he went inside. Adrastea was asleep and tucked into bed wearing a spaghetti strap off white nightgown. Not caring if might be frowned upon, Tarrent climbed up onto her bed and laid next to Adrastea's sleeping form, placing his hat on the nightstand. Smiling at Adrastea's peaceful look, the Hatter vowed to protect this young woman...

"Adrastea?" called a female voice, so lovely, so beautiful. Younger Adrastea came to the woman who called her. Such pretty brown eyes, the woman had long blonde hair with gentle waves. She smiled down at the eleven year old. "Do you know who I am?" she asked.

The child grinned like it was a foolish question. "You're Alice, my protector."

The woman smiled sadly. "I was, child, but now you have new protectors. Remember the Mad Hatter and the White Queen?"

The girl smirked. "I could never forget! I remember when that book appeared on my bed after Father burned me the first time."

Alice looked melancholy. "Don't ever lose hope my girl. You'll find friends that you could never hope to lose."

Hugging Alice tight, the girl smiled up at the startled woman. "I won't. You have to go now... I love you."

Patting Adrastea's head, Alice looked into the distance as she started to fade away. "I love you too, Goodbye Adrastea."

"Goodbye for now... Alice."

Tarrent woke to Chessur's huge grin. "Falling asleep with Alice's kin." tusked the amused cat. Orange flashed in the Hatter's eyes as the blue and gray cat chuckled. Stirring slightly, Adrastea opened her eyes to watch the glare/stare down between the two males. Raising an eyebrow, she glanced at her surroundings and grinned.

Feeling warm hands on his side, Tarrent turned to see Adrastea awake and grinning. Giving a smile back, he felt himself moving and then noticed Adrastea was pushing him... off the bed. Surprised, the Hatter fell on the floor as Adrastea giggled as she peered over the edge of the bed at him.

Chessur appeared beside the tittering teen holding up a paw. "That was nice." he purred as Adrastea gave him a high-five. Both had matching grins as they watched Tarrent get up and glare at the two of them before laughing.

Smiling, Adrastea jumped from the bed toward the bathroom, landing gracefully before the door. "Be out in a bit." she said with a grin. Chessur and Tarrent exchanged looks and went to the sitting room to wait for her to get dressed for the day. Inside they could hear her moving around singing.

'Coming out your mouth with your blah, blah, blah. Zip your lips like a padlock and meet me at the back, With the jack and the jukebox.'Sang Adrastea as she was getting dressed, her headphone's in. 'I don't really care where you live at. Just turn around, boy, let me hit that. Don't be a little bitch with your chit chat. Just show me where your dick's at.'Tarrent's jaw dropped. "Did she just..?"

'Music starts, listen hot stuff. I'm in love with this song. So just hush, baby, shut up. Heard enough.'Continued Adrastea as Chessur nodded, both guys now standing by the bedchamber door listening carefully. 'Stop, talk, talk, talking that blah, blah, blah. Think you'll be getting this nah, nah, nah. Not in the back of my car, ah, ah. If you keep talking that blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.'

Tarrent's eyes were wide like Chessur's. 'Boy, come on give me rock stuff. Come put a little love it my glove bag. I wanna dance with no pants on. Meet me in the back with the jack and the jukebox.'Dancing slightly, Adrastea slipped on some socks. 'So cut to the chase kid, 'Cause I know you don't care what my middle name is. I wanna be naked but you're wasted.' Hatter blinked as Chessur snickered slightly.

'Music's up, listen hot stuff. I'm in love with this song. So just hush, baby, shut up. Heard enough.'Mouth open, Tarrent wondered if Adrastea was possessed again, by a demon. 'Stop talk, talk, talking that blah, blah, blah. Think you'll be getting this nah, nah, nah. Not in the back of my car, ah, ah. If you keep talking that blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.'

'You be delaying, you're always saying some shit. You say I'm playing, I'm never laying the dick. Saying blah, blah, blah. 'Cause I don't care who you are in this bar. It only matters who I is.'Adrastea sang the guy's part, not caring if it sounded weird for her.

'Stop talk, talk, talking that blah, blah, blah. Think you'll be getting this nah, nah, nah. Not in the back of my car, ah, ah. If you keep talking that blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.' Ear to the doorTarrent could hear Adrastea coming closer. Scrambling, him and Chessur sat on some chairs.

'Blah, blah, blah. Think you'll be getting this nah, nah, nah. Not in the back of my car, ah, ah. If you keep talking that blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.'Singing, Adrastea came out dressed in a short fluffy pink dress with a white ribbon tied around her waist and tied into a bow in the back. Wearing a pair on tall white and pink striped socks and a pair of arm warmers in the same design, Adrastea finished the song. 'Blah, blah, blah. Stop talking. Stop talk, talk talking that.'

Stopping, she looked at the two who were staring at her. "What?" she asked innocently. "Do you like that song, I can sing it again. " she said reaching for her iPod.

"NO!" yelled both males reaching for her.

Looking up, Adrastea laughed. "Ok, ok. I won't sing it again." she replied turning off the iPod. "Breakfast?"

Relaxing, the duo nodded. "Alright..." They murmured as Adrastea lead them to the kitchen...

* * *

The song was "Blah Blah Blah" by Ke$ha


	11. The Time Walker

Weeks passed, Adrastea was happy and joyful. She felt so free. Not caring who saw her scars, she wore what she wanted. She even asked Hatter to make her some hats much to his enjoyment. Singing freely to her iPod, Adrastea felt like she could do anything. The White Queen knew no potion could heal those scars, but she was happy that Adrastea didn't care.

One day, Adrastea was singing to the flowers, who had decided they liked her voice. She always had Tarrent watching her, secretly or otherwise. Today, he was perched on a hedge, listening with a contented expression on his face.

'_I wanted to be like you, I wanted everything. So I tried to be like you, and I got swept away._'Adrastea was sitting on her favorite bench, singing along to the female singer. '_I didn't know that it was so cold, and you needed someone to show you the way. So I took your hand and we figured out, that when the time comes I'd take you away_.'

'_If you want to, I can save you. I can take you away from here. So lonely inside, so busy out there. And all you wanted was somebody who cares.' _Holding herself close, Adrastea's eyes turned a pale blue. '_I'm sinking slowly, so hurry hold me. Your hand is all I have to keep me hanging on. Please can you tell me, so I can finally see. Where you go when you're gone._'

'_If you want to, I can save you. I can take you away from here. So lonely inside, so busy out there. And all you wanted was somebody who cares_.'Singing to the sky, Adrastea was lost in the song again. '_All you wanted was somebody who cares. If you need me you know I'll be there. Oh, yeah...'_

'_If you want to, I can save you. I can take you away from here. So lonely inside, so busy out there. And all you wanted was somebody who cares._'Hatter closed his eyes listening. Adrastea continued to sing, not noticing a pale gold circle surround the bench she was on. Pulsing with her words, it glowed. '_If you want to, I can save you. I can take you away from here. So lonely inside, so busy out there. And all you wanted was somebody who cares._'

'_Please can you tell me, so I can finally see. Where you go when you're gone..._'As Adrastea sang the last note, she was surrounded by the circle as it gobbled up her and the bench.

Waiting for a moment, Tarrent opened his eyes as gasped. Adrastea was gone along with the bench. Jumping down from the hedge, he looked frantically around. "Adrastea!" he screamed. His heart was throbbing like it was stabbed, much like when Alice left. Knees hit the ground, bending his head back, Hatter roared in anguish...

Adrastea felt like she was just on a rollercoaster, her stomach was doing somersaults and her head was spinning. Opening her eyes, she saw geometric patterns in every color surrounding her. "I must have slipped off the bench..." she muttered, disbelievingly.

"Then you must have hit it hard enough to send yourself into another dimension." chuckled a female voice. Turning Adrastea found its owner, a tall strange looking woman. Amused gray eyes watched Adrastea raise an eyebrow. "This is the form I choose long ago, child."

Rolling her eyes, Adrastea propped herself up on her elbows. This woman was white like an albino, but her hair was floating around her head like it was suspended in water. Pale blonde at the roots, it darkened to red at the very tips. A pastel dot was on the center of each cheek under her large child-like eyes. She was wearing a violet corset leotard, with darker purple on the sides. A green garter was on her right leg, where a sky blue fishnet ended. One neon pink stocking was connected to the leotard by a green garter belt strap. Somehow connected in the back of the corset was a shimmering silver veil that was like a train on the wedding gown. In the center of this woman's forehead was a fuchsia diamond with tiny blue dots of either side of it.

'Bizarre...' thought Adrastea, taking in the woman's appearance. "Who are you?" she asked, rubbing her aching temples.

Sighing, the woman knelt beside Adrastea. "I am the Time Walker."

"You walk through Time?" inquired Adrastea, raising an eyebrow.

"Essentially, yes." replied the Time Walker. "We get bored of the ability sooner or later. I've been waiting for you, Adrastea." her tone got serious. "You could have the power to stop or slow the flow of Time, to not age if you wish, or reverse age, but this all comes at a cost..."

Adrastea rolled her eyes. "When isn't there one..."

The woman smiled. "I must give up my power to give it to you, and you must do one thing I ask for." She leaned closer. "I only ask if you accept this gift to save yourself."

Cocking her head to the side, Adrastea's eyes turned pale gray also, but in confusion. "How? When?"

The Time Walker smiled and kissed Adrastea's forehead. In an explosion of color, Adrastea felt a burning flame enter her body. "You remember... as a child..." said the female voice that faded into nothingness.

"I do remember..." murmured Adrastea, as she summoned a purple portal and a mask. "Save myself..." she muttered, that man was going to be stopped before he killed her...

Exhausted, Adrastea transported herself to a minute after she disappeared. A roar of a scream filled her ears, giving her a headache. Smirking, Adrastea came over and gazing at the madman hollering to the sky. Bending down, she kissed him hard. Not knowing why, she just did it, it shut him up alright.

Tarrent was feeling like someone tore out his heart when he felt warm lips on his own. Choking down the scream, he opened his eyes to see Adrastea. Adrastea was kissing him! Joy replaced the broken feeling completely as he kissed back, his hand going to her cheek. He also whined when she pulled back, panting softly. "Please don't scream like that, who knows whose ears are now deaf."

Hatter stared at Adrastea in shock. Smirking she helped him up. "What... happened?" he asked, his mind slow after the kiss.

Adrastea looked thoughtful. "Quite honestly, I don't have the faintest idea. But all I know is that I'm now a Time Walker..." she replied shrugging.

A blue butterfly landed on her shoulder. "It was predicted, child. You were sent to Underland for that fate." retorted Absolem, smoking. "You are the last Time Walker, forever to keep the peace as Time passes you by."

Adrastea smiled, a bright beautiful smile. "Then I'd better find a spouse... to keep things... interesting..." Adrastea gave Tarrent a very suggestive look.

Turning a faint shade of pink, Hatter took off his hat and bowed to Adrastea. "To the Time Walker!" he hailed with a coy grin at Adrastea.

"To the Time Walker!" hollered the group, as Absolem flew off, muttering about noise.

* * *

The song is "All You Wanted" by Michelle Branch


	12. WHAT?

**Warning! This chapter contains mature rated scenes! Read At Own Risk!**

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Adrastea fussed with the long mostly white gown she was wearing. "Must it be today?" she asked herself as she gazed at the almost unrecognizable young woman in the mirror. Her lengthy ebony locks were curled and pinned into a purposely messy bun. The gown she wore was floor length with a princess silhouette and a lace up corset bodice with a sweetheart neckline. Dazzling violet beads and off-white pearls made roses and butterflies all over the left side of the bodice and all over the chapel train connected to her waist.

The White Queen came in with a hat box. "I thought he'd never get it done!" she exclaimed as she set it down on the nearest table. Adrastea came over smiling. With a flourish, the Queen opened the box and placed the hat perfectly on top of Adrastea's head.

The top hat was beautiful. Purple silk was the main color but there was an cream scarf type thick ribbon tied around the base. Gazing at her reflection, Adrastea smiled brilliantly. "Time for you to be happy." said the White Queen gently taking Adrastea by the arm and walking her through the silent empty halls. Slightly nervous, Adrastea looked about. "Everyone is waiting for you my dear." assured the Queen as they entered the garden, music automatically starting.

Adrastea blushed at all the people turned in the rows of seats to watch her walk down with the Queen. Petals of ever shape and color were strewn everywhere, making everything colorful. Taking a deep breath, Adrastea looked up to see Tarrent in all his colorful glory. He was still wearing his normal hat but was wearing a black pin-stripe suit.

As twitchy as usual, Thackery was standing beside the Hatter on his left as Mally was standing in a stool wearing a small violet dress, on the right. Tarrent's eyes were locked on Adrastea as she walked toward him. If someone had told her on the plane, to her adopted mother's grandparents home, that she would end up in a place called Underland, and two years later marry a mad hatter, she would have slapped them.

Beaming, Tarrent took Adrastea from the White Queen as she past them to stand slightly above them as the minister. Delicately clearing her throat, she spoke loudly but still gracefully. "We are all here today with no ill will to this couple on this day, to unite them forever. Tarrent Hightopp and Adrastea Korbyn, state your vows."

Tarrent took both of Adrastea's hand in his own. "Adrastea, I swear to cherish you, hold you, and never allow harm to come to you willingly. I promise to forever love and support you and all your muchness for eternity and beyond." Slipping a silver ring with diamonds and multicolored gems onto her left ring finger, Tarrent looked at Adrastea lovingly.

Returning the look with a look of adoration of her own, Adrastea began her vows. "I, Adrastea Korbyn, solemnly vow to support and guide you with every ounce of my being, as I hold you close and love you forever and past the date of infinity. Together we rose and now together we fall. So shall be it." stated Adrastea clearly before she slipped a plain silver ring onto Tarrent's right ring finger.

Smiling, the White Queen clapped. "I pronounce you, with the power I possess, man and wife! Now, Tarrent kiss your bride."

The Hatter smirked. "Don't mind if I do..." he said as he swept Adrastea, who squeaked, and kissed her hard as he dipped her. All thoughts forgotten, Adrastea wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed back. As they kissed the crowd went wild with clapping, whistles and cat calls. Ignoring everyone else, the couple continued to kiss until the White Queen cleared her throat slightly and made them stop.

Blushing madly, the newly weds broke apart panting but excited. They were no doubt together forever...

Receptions for an Underland wedding were grand indeed, but the two main guests of honor were just itching for it to be over. After a while, the White Queen floated over. "If you'd like I could make it seem like you had a good reason to go so you can be off." she offered with a graceful smile.

Adrastea looked at Tarrent, the Hatter looked back and they both smiled and nodded at the White Queen, who then shooed them away. The duo wasted no time in racing down the halls to the honeymoon wing that the Queen made just for the occasion. Laughing, the two burst through the door and locked it behind them. As they caught their breath, their eyes caught the others and soon they were kissing each other hard. While Adrastea branded him, Tarrent slowly raised his arms and entangled his hands in her long ebony tresses. When Adrastea licked his bottom lip, Tarrent gasped at her bold move, leaving enough room for Adrastea to dart in to taste every crevice.

Finally, Tarrent wrapped his arms around his bride and lifted her, effortlessly carrying her to the bed and laying her down. He gazed into her eyes, completely serious. "We don't have to do anything tonight, you know that right?"

Adrastea looked hesitant, but then shook her head and smiled. "Yes, but I want to." she declared.

The Hatter searched her purple eyes and then smiled. "Alright..." he murmured, his voice now husky and his eyes a smoky green. "Let's see what you're always hiding from me..." His words sent shivers down Adrastea's spine in excitement.

Working fast and cleverly, the Hatter soon had Adrastea in only her underwear, her arms crossed over her breasts. Her eyes had darkened to a deep violet as he worked. Panting softly, they looked at each other. "We don't have to do this." reminded Tarrent. Adrastea smiled and simply leaned up and kissed him hard. Growling slightly in the back of his throat, Tarrent kisses as hard as he could back, as his hand moves her arms away.

Tarrent's fingers run slowly from Adrastea's waist, where they had stopped, up to her shoulder before starting down again. He trace the swell of her breast, running down one side and up the other, just barely avoiding the darker splotch of her nipple and tracing his way up, just opposite the place he came down.

As Tarrent reached the top again, he let a few other fingers join the first and slowly rub my way down the center of Adrastea's breast in small circles. He felt a small tremor run down her body as he first touched her nipple. His fingers danced just inside the splotch, but never quite touching the center in their circling.

Finally as the Hatter reached the bottom of Adrastea's breast again, he ran the back of his fingernail up the very center tugging her aroused nipple for an instant as it passes. He hears Adrastea's short gasp and lifts his finger from her breast, moving his hand quickly down again.

Gently taking the fullness of it in his hand, Tarrent's thumb presses into Adrastea's nipple rubbing in small quick circles as the rest of his hand kneads into her soft flesh. Adrastea's fingers dug into the bed sheets again with each circle of his thumb. Adrastea's breath sharpens to a soft pant as the pleasure runs through her body.

Tarrent watches as Adrastea's chest moves with her quickened breathing. While her head rolls to one side as his thumb grazes the very tip of her nipple, the Hatter licked his lips and ran one long suck of a kiss from her collar bone to her unattended nipple.

A fresh moan of surprise and pleasure leaves Adrastea's lips as Tarrent gently rolls the tip of her nipple against his teeth. Bring his unused hand up to the breast in his mouth, Tarrent slowly traces a line of sucking kisses to the center of her breasts and up to the breast he began on. Tarrent's hand leaves quickly and is replaces just as quickly with his mouth as he eagerly sucks on that nipple letting his teeth trail lightly against the skin as he opens his mouth, letting his tongue swirl around and around the tip.

For a long time, Tarrent plays with her breasts, listening to Adrastea's sighs and moans for directions as he tries to bring his love the most pleasure she's ever had.

Finally, Tarrent gives each of Adrastea's nipples a wet kiss and a gentle pinch, then moves back up to her face, letting her pull his mouth to hers. Her mouth was voracious, her hand tangled in his unruly red curly hair and one of her arms was wrapped so tightly around his waist. After a long, wet kiss directly against the hand tangled in his hair, Tarrent pulls back and start kissing his way slowly down to her panties.

Rough hands belong to the Hatter slid under the thin off-white material and lifted them slowly off Adrastea's body and down her legs, finally discarding them, eager to explore the treasure he'd uncovered. As he moves forward, her legs squeeze together in front of him and he stops.

Dark green eyes with flecks of yellow gazed into orbs of dark purple. "Do you not want me to?" he asked, confused slightly.

Adrastea blushes. "No... I do, it's just..." she trailed off.

Tarrent pulls himself around so he's back next to her face. "If you don't want me to do, I'll wait."

Adrastea rolls her eyes "I just said I wanted you to I'm just…"

"Too shy lass?" Tarrent asked, kissing the base of Adrastea's neck. Her hands tangle back into his hair again as he kisses her neck, cheeks and nose.

After a few kisses, Adrastea's hand starts pulling Tarrent downward, gently down between her breasts, and lower, and lower. Her legs spread slightly at the soft push of his hand and he slid back between them again and lower his face down, closer to Adrastea's most sensitive place. He pause just before lowering his lips to the warm, moist flesh, letting her feel his breath against her for a moment before he starts.


	13. Wedding Night

**Warning Mature Content! Read At Your Own Risk!**

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Like a lightning strike, Tarrent's tongue lashes out slipping from the base of Adrastea's slit to the very top in an instant. She let out the loudest moan of the night and he smile to himself, now he would get to give her the pleasures he's dreamed about giving her for a long time. Slowly running his tongue back down, he savored the smell, and the taste of her desire.

The hand in Tarrent's hair gripped tightly, pushing his face down into Adrastea's most sacred places. He obligingly pushed his tongue between the lips of her pussy as he listen to her symphony of moans.

Before long, Adrastea's legs joined her hand in pushing her husband to her. Body shuddering with each lick, Tarrent tenderly lapped at every corner of her sex.

After a few minutes, Adrastea's pleasure spikes, her body so close to the release of orgasmic bliss, even Tarrent realized just what would push Adrastea over the edge. One hand snakes up to her breasts and circles a nipple tugging and rolling it gently, but firmly. He moved his mouth up to the spot where she are most sensitive, as his other hand gently rubs a finger between the moist lips of her puss.

Starting gently and slowly, Tarrent moved his finger in and out twisting each time and moving faster and faster. His attentions on her nipple increase in speed while his fingers alternate between rubbing and pinching.

Just as Adrastea let out a long moan, Tarrent sucked hard on her clit, just under my mouth being caressed lovingly by my tongue. Her entire body shudders, the hand in his hair clenches into a fist and legs constrict pushing him into her even more.

After a long moment, Adrastea relaxed as Tarrent replaced the fingers inside her with his tongue as he tries to clean up every drop of her pleasure. Her body shudders again as he does. Hands ball up again for an instant, but not too long after her first orgasm, Adrastea called to Tarrent an a shaky voice. "Please, not right now… too sensitive."

Tarrent crawl up to her face and lay next to Adrastea. Hands wrapped around her, holding her to him. Adrastea rolled over on top of his chest and kiss him hard on the lips. "That was…" she started.

Tarrent smiled as Adrastea stopped. "At least 'good' I hope."

"Better than a mere good." Adrastea replied kissing him again. They stay like that for a long moment, enjoying the closeness of their bodies. Tarrent ran a hand down, stroking down from her shoulder to her thigh when he realized something and laughed.

Adrastea cocked her head and nuzzled into his neck. "What's so funny?"

"That despite all my fantasies, I've made it this far without taking my clothes off." Adrastea gave a low hum of agreement, pressing her face to his neck. "You ready for me to take them off?" he asked playfully, his hand stroking her thighs working its way slowly inward.

Adrastea's face heated up against his neck and all she could manage is another short hum. Tarrent grins to himself and kisses her hard before wiggling off his clothes tossing them aside.

Tarrent kissed Adrastea as hard as he could, gently pressing his hardness against her bare stomach. She kept kissing back, apparently not bothered. Kissing passionately, Tarrent slid a hand between her legs and started to gently play with her, making her very wet and moan against his mouth. Breaking apart, he looked at his love, his wife. "Do you... still want to?" he asked, slightly afraid of her answer.

Adrastea smiled and nodded, confidently. Tarrent gave her a quick kiss and leaned back onto his knees. He tried, mostly unsuccessfully, to keep his breathing under control. Slowly, he slipped his reddened head just inside her and returns to her face, using his arms to hold himself up so he don't push into her. "Ready?" he asked, dreading this moment; everything he'd ever heard from others who knew her past, said that the first push would hurt her emotionally, how much he didn't know.

"Go." Adrastea says with a stutter. Tarrent sighed, calming his body as much he can and push in as deep as he can quickly. Adrastea let out a gasp and he immediately froze. "I'm so sorry. I'll stop. I'm sorry."

Tarrent starts to lift off of her chest, but Adrastea's legs wrap around his waist. "I'm fine." she said, putting a hand against his chest. "I'm… ready."

Tarrent nods still a bit unsure, but starts to slowly work his hips back and forth. Adrastea gave a low moan, panting, and her hips matching rhythm to his as Tarrent speeds up. Soon their bodies are moving together without conscious thought.

Adrastea's moans gained in volume and length more so then any other time that night. After a few minutes, her moans become urgent and Tarrent's hips start to move even faster, in a frenzy of pleasure. A few seconds later, Adrastea's body spasms around his member, tightening up to a vice as her orgasm waves over her.

Tarrent's hits him only a split second later and he collapses on top of Adrastea, heavy breathing synchronized."Enough for one night?" he asked between breaths.

Adrastea nodded and Tarrent rolls off of her, so she can breathe easier. They snuggle together under the blankets, Tarrent still occasionally runs a finger over her ebony bush or plant a kiss on her nipples and Adrastea watches him do so, until they eventually fall asleep pulled up against one another. Their bodies entwined like ivy around a fence.


End file.
